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Investment Opportunities Series: Laminate Flooring Production

Despite the slowdown in the Iranian construction industry, laminate flooring or floating wood tile has remained popular among consumers, thanks to its look of hardwood or stone flooring, ease of installation and maintenance as well as durability.
Laminate floor is usually made from high-density fiber or wood particles, with a laminate overlay designed to look like wood or stone. A clear, hard layer is placed on top, giving the laminate floor its durability.
They are like pieces of puzzle that can be clicked into one another. Sometimes a glue backing is provided for ease of installation.
Laminate flooring is cheaper and easier to install than hardwood flooring. Prices, excluding installation costs, range from about 350,000 rials ($10 at market exchange rate) per square meter for the Iranian version made under Belgium’s license to 1.5 million rials ($42) for the German brands, the Persian daily Forsat-e Emrooz reported.
An expert said domestic production adds up to as little as 10% of Iran’s laminate flooring market, therefore investment in this field would prove to be lucrative.
Ezzatollah Norani, who is also public relations manager of Tirajeh Harmony Company, added that local products lack the quality architects and interior designers look for due to the lack of technology and machinery.
“Before the imposition of anti-Iran sanctions, laminates were imported from Germany, Finland, the UK, Italy, France, Canada and even the US. But now China has seized Iran’s laminate market,” he said.
Norani believes that the industry is unlikely to lose steam, noting that laminate flooring has become a popular way to update the look of a home and gives investors much elbow room in the home renovation market.
As a startup business in laminate manufacture, investors need to have some 200 billion rials ($5.71 million), 80% of which should be spent on production of floor equipment and facilities and the rest should be allocated to the working capital. The best areas to set up a factory are northern or western Iran.
To win the needed permits, you should refer to offices affiliated to the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade.
Investment would create jobs for 50 to 75 people and yield a return of around 40% in profits on the initial investment.